Steve Tanzer's Best

Best Reds
	2000 Fonseca Vintage Port Port Blend; Portugal;	$79.99
	" Saturated medium-deep ruby. Exotic aromas of black fruit liqueur, road tar, smoked meat and hot stones; this reminded me of a great ripe-year Hermitage. Hugely rich and dense, with compelling sweetness and pliancy but also sound framing acidity. Extremely youthful and very long on the aftertaste. Finishes with suave but strong tannins and excellent grip and thrust." -- Steve Tanzer (95 points)
	2000 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Port Blend; Portugal;	$79.99
	" Bright deep ruby. Brooding, complex aromas of cassis, minerals, graphite, licorice and damp earth; distinct hints of surmaturite. Dense, chewy and powerful, with a saline impression of extract. At once strong and seamless, with penetrating, youthfully primary black fruit flavors that really expand and reverberate in the mouth and on the very long, gripping finish." -- Steve Tanzer (95 points)
	2002 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$299.99
	"($130-$180) Good saturated ruby-red. Tight nose hints at currant and smoky oak. Highly concentrated, densely packed and built to age. As young as it is, it also shows a lovely velvety texture rare for this vintage. Finishes with terrific breadth, subtle minerality and noble tannins. I've been a fan of this wine since the outset." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2000 Chateau Leoville Barton Saint Julien Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$199.99
	" Full medium ruby. Knockout superripe nose combines black cherry, licorice and exotic spices. Compellingly sweet, lush and complete, with harmonious acids giving the wine lovely vinosity and extending the flavors. Finishes with lush, dusty tannins and superb persistence. A great vintage for Leoville-Barton." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2000 Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$199.99
	" Good full red-ruby. Complex nose combines plum, mocha, minerals, tobacco and burnished oak. A bit tight on entry, then expands and explodes toward the back, showing dense, insinuating flavors of black fruits and licorice. Chewy, sharply delineated Pichon-Baron with excellent underlying backbone and broad, palate-coating tannins. An outstanding vintage for this estate." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2003 Chateau Margaux Margaux Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$499.99
	"Medium red-ruby. Coffee, mocha, exotic woodsmoke and brown spices on the nose. Fat, full and rich, with intriguing curry and cardamom notes. Opulent and voluptuous wine, with a huge middle palate. But surprisingly tight-grained in the mouth considering the evolution of the wine's aromas. Finishes extremely long, with sandy tannins." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2001 Antonio Caggiano Macchia dei Goti Taurasi other red varietal; Other Italy;	$39.99
	"($48) Deep, luminous ruby-red. Intense and persistent aromas of grilled bacon fat, chocolate-covered dried cherries, mint and smoke, with a touch of spicy graphite. Profoundly rich, spicy and dense, with flavors of raspberry jam, red cherry liqueur, black pepper and grilled steak. With its pleasantly chewy extract and silky tannins, this would appear to have great aging potential." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	1999 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Ornellaia Bordeaux Blend; Tuscany;	$149.99
	"Full ruby-red. Youthful, perfumed nose hints at cherry, flowers, licorice and lead pencil. Dense, brooding and powerful, with superb depth and clarity of cherry, cassis, mineral and floral flavors. An aristocratic, backward, gripping Ornellaia that finishes with explosive length and building tannins. If the '98 is feminine, this is distinctly masculine." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)